Who Murdered Henry Han and His Family?

There was no shortage of harrowing images exploding off the walls in Judge Brian Hill’s courtroom during last week’s preliminary hearing of Pierre Haobsh ​— ​a 27-year-old cipher ​— ​accused of killing Santa Barbara’s highly regarded Chinese herbalist Dr. Henry Han; his wife, Jennie; and their young daughter, Emily, in March 2016 at their Goleta home.

Most upsetting were the autopsy photographs of Emily showing the entrance wounds where eight 22-caliber bullets penetrated her skull. The largest was in the middle of her forehead. Radiating out from each entrance wound were thin, wooden probe sticks about eight inches long, designed to demonstrate the path taken by the bullets. At the time of her death, Emily was just a few days shy of celebrating her sixth birthday.

Haobsh ​— ​clad in an orange jail jumpsuit, hands and ankles cuffed, a chain shackled around his waist ​— ​turned his head away from the images. District Attorney Joyce Dudley, who attended most of the three-day hearing, also seemed to have a hard time watching.